Marissa said, “I’ve always wanted to have a wiener dog and dress him up like a hot dog.”

According to the National Retail Federation, the most popular pet costume will be a pumpkin, with devils and hot dogs following closely behind.

Other costumes available at PetSmart included pirates, ladybugs, toads, bikers, Spider-Man, uh, dog, and “Cat Woman,” which actually was a dog costume. Little doggie wigs were available in blond and hot pink.

Cody Clay, a manager at PetSmart, said last week that pet Halloween costumes were selling well.

“Frogs and sock monkeys seem to be the popular ones,” he said. “Penguins are always cute.”

For cats, he said, most of the costumes are things to “go on their head.”

“Cats don’t usually like to wear anything,” Clay said.

He said he owns two cats but doesn’t dress them up for Halloween.

Dog costumes could be used for cats, or any pet, “as long as it stays on the animal,” he said.

April Mayfield, 33, is experiencing her first Halloween as the owner of Bow Wow and Meow Bakery and Boutique near Maumelle.

She said she took suggestions from customers about what costumes to order.

“For dogs, we’ve been asked this year to get a lot of the hot dogs, so we have hot dogs with ketchup and hot dogs with mustard,” she said.

Those work well for dachshunds, she said.

“Another thing that’s been popular this year has been pirate costumes,” she said.

Mayfield said she’s also gotten a few requests for ladybug costumes, and she has costumes running the gamut from lobsters to emergency-room doctors.

“We have two flowers, and they were featured on the movie Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2,” she said.

It’s not just diminutive dogs that get dressed up, though.

“We do have a company that goes up to a [size] 3X. I actually had a Great Dane in this morning, and we measured him, and it will fit him, thank goodness,” she said.

Mayfield said the dog’s owners were trying to decide between two costumes — a strip of bacon or a crayon.

For cats, Mayfield said, she offers a witch hat, a “devil cat” with a cape, and a kitty-crusader costume that looks similar to Puss ’n’ Boots.

People often like to dress up their pets for the same reason they do anything else with them — their animals are part of the family.